IIED at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP20)

Conference

IIED was at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP20) in Lima, Peru, which ran from 1-12 December 2014.

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COP20 begins in Lima, where negotiators have gathered to discuss action to tackle global  climate change (Photo: Kate Wilson/IIED)

IIED senior fellow Saleemul Huq, also director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD), provided regular vlogs from Lima (above) and on IIED's YouTube site, and also gave his views on Twitter.

We also provided regular round-ups below using the Storify format: 

Our main activities included:

  • Helping vulnerable developing countries achieve equitable outcomes at the negotiations. We also support the climate diplomacy of vulnerable countries by identifying key opportunities to put climate change higher on the foreign policy agenda. This benefits vulnerable countries by supporting ambition and action at the UN level.

  • Helping to organise and host the 12th Development and Climate Days conference – a two-day event focusing on innovative approaches and incisive dialogue for climate-smart development. The event provided a wide range of participants the opportunity to explore ways to inform and influence key political processes coalescing in 2015 and ensure strategies to tackle poverty and climate change work to complement each other.

  • Joining a Global Landscape Forum session to discuss the strong linkages between the post-2015 agenda and the climate change agenda.

  • Helping to co-host a side event looking at the extent to which commercial agriculture can address deforestation and emissions from land use and land use change.

  • Showcasing our latest publications and briefings on the IIED exhibition stand.

  • Joining side events on the implementation of REDD+, focusing on indigenous peoples' rights and safeguards, and the legal and governance foundations. More information on these events is listed below.

Events

Meeting with junior LDC negotiators 

Pre-COP20 meeting
Date: Sunday 30 November

IIED's work on climate diplomacy supports climate diplomats from the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to better advocate for the most vulnerable. By raising the voices of the LDCs, establishing relationships and building bridges to reach consensus on pertinent issues, these climate diplomats are opening new avenues for the most vulnerable in the diplomatic sphere that surrounds the UN climate negotiations.

Related reading: Helping poorest nations engage in climate diplomacy | Understanding key positions of the Least Developed Countries in climate change negotiations

South Asia - vulnerable region and adaptation strategies 

Side event
Date:
Tuesday 2 December
Speakers: Including IIED senior fellow Saleemul Huq

The South Asian region is impacted by climate-induced disasters and, with shared natural resource boundaries, the eight countries need to coordinate climate action to mitigate adverse impacts like migration, cyclones, floods, etc. This event shared the lessons from adaptation actions being framed.

REDD+ approaches to equity in forest governance: Lessons for safeguard development

Side event
Date: Wednesday 3 December
Speakers: Including Marisa Camargo, of University of Helsinki and INDUFOR, and Regan Pairojmahakij, senior program officer for RECOFTC.

Representatives working on forestry and climate change in Asia and Africa reflected on experiences strengthening equity in forest governance, and associated challenges and opportunities, with a view to how lessons learned can contribute to safeguard development in REDD+. 

Marisa Camargo's presentation included IIED's work to look at the extent to which commercial agriculture can address deforestation and emissions from land use and land use change.

Increasing resilience to climate change through adaption to CSA practices and a focus on gender and IPCCA (Indigenous People's Climate change Assessment)

Partner side event
Date: Wednesday 3 December
Speakers: Including Alejandro Argumedo of Asociacion ANDES

This session highlighted issues related to gender and resilience to climate change with a focus on climate-smart agricultural technologies, adoption pathways and resources required. Speakers will discuss these issues in the context of Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.

Related reading: Smallholder innovation for resilience (SIFOR) flyer | Biocultural heritage territories | Biocultural heritage website

Climate mitigation and adaptation in forest landscape restoration: Exploring the synergies

Partner side event
Date: Thursday 4 December

The climate is changing – and the effects are already being felt. Often the two possible responses to the problem – mitigating the emissions of greenhouse gases or adapting to the changes their accumulation will bring –are discussed as two alternative, separate mechanisms. We can either reduce emissions or get ready for the consequences. At this point, as it appears likely we will experience some manner of dangerous climate change already, many suggest we should be doing both at the same time.

What if one action could do both? Forest landscape restoration may be such an action. This session featured 10-minute presentations and then a panel discussion looking into challenges and opportunities for building synergies between adaptation and mitigation. 

Mountains community-based adaptation 

Workshop
Date: Thursday 4 December
Speakers: Including IIED principal researcher Krystyna Swiderska and  Alejandro Argumedo of Asociacion ANDES

Climate change threatens mountain ecosystems and the people that depend on them. The IPCC states that the magnitude of climate change impacts increases with altitude, hence mountain ecosystems will be the first affected and will experience the most severe changes over time. This event examined the impacts of climate change on mountain livelihoods, food and ecosystems, and identify strategies for effective Community Based Adaptation (CBA) in mountains.

Related reading: Smallholder innovation for resilience (SIFOR) flyer | Biocultural heritage territories | Biocultural heritage website | Bhutan Declaration on climate change and mountain indigenous peoples | Mountain communities workshop on climate change and biocultural heritage

REDD+ implementation: Legal and governance foundations, indigenous peoples' rights and safeguards

Side event
Date: Friday 5 December

The rule of law and strong national governance frameworks are fundamental to implement REDD+, including for effective safeguards implementation and information systems, and to ensure respect for rights and traditional governance systems of indigenous peoples to promote sustainable land management.

12th Development and Climate Days Conference (day 1)

Event
Date: Saturday 6 December

The 12th D&C Days conference was organised by IIED in conjunction with the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), and the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN).

With an opportunity to integrate global efforts to tackle climate change and poverty, and set the world on a path to zero extreme poverty and zero net emissions within a generation, participants will explore ways to integrate climate and poverty targets, influence the UNFCCC negotiations and identify agreements that could produce zero-zero within a generation.

This two-day event focused on innovative approaches and incisive dialogue for climate-smart development, and feature dynamic, interactive discussion, including participatory games, speed geeking, lightning talks, role-play discussions, world cafés and more. View the agenda for more detailed information. You can also see and subscribe to a Twitter list of organisations and individuals involved in D&C Days.

Global Landscapes Forum: Enabling forest landscapes to score Sustainable Development Goals

Session
Date: 
Saturday 6 December
Speakers: Including IIED director Camilla Toulmin

Incorporating forests and above all a landscape approach in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – both in their formulation and in their implementation – is a challenge. There are strong linkages between the post-2015 agenda and the climate change agenda, which will be addressed by this discussion forum.

In particular, the session explored how the frameworks for financing, planning and monitoring and accountability, associated with the post-2015 agenda and the new climate agreement, could be applied in a way that creates much needed synergies. The co-organisers will use their research of how to incorporate forests in the SDGs in an integrated, landscape approach as a starting point for discussion. Analyses will come from different stakeholders and regions.

Related reading: Global Landscapes Forum agenda | Integrating forests into the post-2015 development framework | Sustainable Development Goals: a forest module for a transformative agenda

Global Landscapes Forum: The role of genetic diversity, traditional knowledge and restoration of native plants in climate adaptation and resilience

Presentation
Date: Saturday 6 December
Speakers: Including IIED principal researcher Krystyna Swiderska and Alejandro Argumedo of Asociacion ANDES

The diversity of plants (specifically genetic resources), knowledge and partnerships play crucial roles for adaptation and resilience to climate change. Landscapes and communities also play an important part in sustaining genetically diverse native crops and trees for adaptation. The role of genetic diversity for restoration purposes will be explored in two distinct contexts, including agricultural landscapes facing marked production constraints due to climate change, focusing on the Potato Park (Peru), and on the agreement between the International Potato Center (CIP) and the Potato Park to reintroduce native potatoes.

Key findings will be presented of a baseline study on the role of crop diversity, traditional knowledge and linkages between traditional knowledge and science to innovate for adaptation. A conceptual approach will also be introduced that combines different scientific disciplines to guide tree-based restoration activities on the ground.

Related reading: Global Landscapes Forum agenda | Photofilm on Biocultural Heritage Territories | Biocultural heritage website 

12th Development and Climate Days Conference (day 2)

Event
Date: Sunday 7 December

The 12th D&C Days conference was organised by IIED in conjunction with the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), and the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN).

With an opportunity to integrate global efforts to tackle climate change and poverty, and set the world on a path to zero extreme poverty and zero net emissions within a generation, participants will explore ways to integrate climate and poverty targets, influence the UNFCCC negotiations and identify agreements that could produce zero-zero within a generation.

This two-day event focused on innovative approaches and incisive dialogue for climate-smart development, and feature dynamic, interactive discussion, including participatory games, speed geeking, lightning talks, role-play discussions, world cafés and more. View the agenda for more detailed information. You can also see and subscribe to a Twitter list of organisations and individuals involved in D&C Days.

Seminar on food and nutrition security, agriculture and climate change 

Seminar
Date: Sunday 7 December

What are the most important issues facing food security in a world impacted by climate change? How can the global research world, civil society, governments and businesses step up to the challenge? CARE International, the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) will host a seminar to raise awareness about and discuss approaches to help address climate change challenges to food and nutrition security. Among those who facilitated the session, discussing making mitigation an opportunity for, rather than a threat to food security, were IIED senior researcher Phil Franks.

Field trip to Potato Park

Field trip (private)
Date: Tuesday 9 December - Wednesday 10 December

As part of work to enhance the capacity of vulnerable farming communities for adaptation and resilience to climate change and explore the role of traditional knowledge, crops and culture in adaptation, IIED will be helping to host a private field trip to the Potato Park, Peru.

Potato Park community leaders explained the park's governance and belief system, followed by a tour to different communities to see their work on climate change research and adaptation. Farmers and scientists will learn from the park’s many innovations for ensuring food security in the face of climate change, based on community-led strategies that link traditional knowledge, culture and biodiversity with science. 

Related reading: Photofilm on Biocultural Heritage Territories | Biocultural heritage website

How to anchor adaptation and the Warsaw International Mechanism in the Paris agreement 

Partner side event
Date: Thursday 11 December
Speakers: Including Pa Ousman Jarjou, The Gambia's Minister of Environment, Climate Change, Water Resources, and Parks and Wildlife and the first Special Climate Envoy to be appointed from a Least Developed Country

Anchoring climate adaptation and risk management in the expected Paris agreement on equal footing with climate change mitigation is a key demand of vulnerable countries, NGOs and faith communities. This side event discussed different approaches to achieve this.

Related reading: Helping poorest nations engage in climate diplomacy | Understanding key positions of the Least Developed Countries in climate change negotiations